The Auckland Festival of Photography is open to programming any exhibition created through the medium of photography. We encourage festival participation from all levels of exhibitors including dealer galleries, private and public venues, individual artists and community groups. We aim to make festival participation as barrier free and inclusive as possible, in order to reflect and represent the diverse populace and points of view within Auckland. We are always looking for volunteers during the busy months prior to and during the Festival, March to end June, so you can take part this way too - see our contacts page for how to get in touch.

The 2017 Festival dates - 1 June to 24 June 2017.

Themed : By Invitation

Core : By Selection

Satellite : Open access & Administration Fee

Theme -2017 Curated programme.

By invitation of the Auckland Festival of Photography Trust, the theme for 2017 is announced - IDENTITY.

As part of our ongoing development in presenting quality exhibition programmes for your enjoyment we are planning to share with you the news of our 2nd international guest curator very soon - themed exhibition at Silo 6 on Wynyard Quarter, CBD, the 2017 Festival exhibitions hub. The theme is by invitation so if we think your work fits what we are trying to acheive and is high quality art, representative of international arts practice we will be in touch.

The themed programme will be planned to include Talking Culture Series, and our annual fine arts commission exhibition. There may be international work alongside NZ work. A 3 week long curated programme including the finest photography the region has to offer and featuring a suite of exhibitions.

Expressions of interest details will be announced in October 2016.

Core Programme.

The Core programme is curated by the Auckland Festival of Photography Trust and team and exhibition inclusion is by selection and at the Trust's discretion.

The Core programme is planned to include the very popular events like Festival Tuesday, Auckland Photo Day and the newly introduced digital Future Projections alongside destination exhibitions by well-known NZ photographers.

If you represent photographers who are due for or are planning an exhibition of their work during June then you need to send an expression of interest and provide an overview of the artist and their work. Try to schedule the exhibition within the festival timeframe - in June, starting Queen's Birthday weekend for three weeks.

Exhibition duration can vary from three weeks, two weeks to a weekend special event and can include an artist's or curator's talk under the Talking Culture banner. Shows which start more than two weeks out from the Festival start date (i.e before 19 May 2017 ) will be placed into the Satellite programme.

You will need to register your interest to be part of the Festival with us by the end of January each year. All who have registered with us and have confirmed with us their exhibition details by 31st January 2017 (31st) and have been selected for the Core programme will be forwarded a link to our programme submission form. You must complete this form by the due date and you must send us all your exhibition promotional details - including text, promotional exhibition photos and logos. These are usually needed by mid February. Expressions of interest are now open.

During the 2011 Festival we strengthened our open access, community and artist driven exhibitions which have been the cornerstone of the Festival since it's inception in 2004. The Satellite programme is an ideal vehicle for photographers to showcase their work alongside the curated signature shows and for visitors to view new photographic works by emerging artists beside established Auckland and international photographers. Participation in the Fringe programme is by agreement between photographers and venues and the Festival Trust. There are no barriers to participation based on experience, background, or style. Entry is open to all photographers who can pull together an exhibition. As with the previous Festivals' overall programme, the new Fringe programme is expected to provide an eclectic mix of work.

The support for the annual Festival has grown significantly since 2004. Audience numbers across the regional exhibitions and events were 70,000 in 2016 a magnificant increase of around 47% on 2010, and website viewers increased 12% in 12 months to end Sept 2016.

Satellite priority is given to first-time exhibitors. The Festival reserves the right to select the final exhibitions from the registered submissions.

Please note that any individual, association, organization or group can only have one Satellite exhibition listing in the programme.

We encourage exhibitions from any individuals and collectives. These groups and individuals must locate a space to exhibit and follow the same process for submission as the galleries and venues. Do you need a Gallery to be in the Festival? Not really, the Festival encourages the use of public spaces or any alternative venue and since our first Festival in 2004 photographers have shown their work in a variety of non gallery spaces including:

A swimming Pool

Libraries

Bowling Clubs

Shop Windows

Billboards

Projection onto buildings

Sports Stadiums

Online web based

Schools

Educational Institutes

Artist collectives spaces

CBD Foyers

Migrant Resource Centre

Retail Outlets

Alliance Francaise

Cafes

Community Centres

Dance Studios

a Bus stop

Church Hall

All these types of alternative venues would require a bit of research. We suggest you approach the spaces and venues directly. Photographic visual arts in the community are encouraged by the Festival, as part of our participation strategy which provides for interventions in our urban environment and the landscape through photography.

The Festival Satellite programme for 2017 is now open for registration and confirmation. Closes 7th February 2017. Download form Satellite registrationSatellite submission & New 2017 Satelliteconditions . Satellite conditions (204K)

The Festival does not provide any direct financial assistance to venues, galleries or artists. We are however happy to provide letters of support for funding applications by venues and artists.